Communication devices, particularly mobile telephones and related portable devices, such as email communicators and messaging pagers, have become ubiquitous personal accessories for business and personal communications worldwide. Such mobile devices typically interface to conventional public switched telephone networks through radio-based communication that provides standard dialup telephone services.
By design, mobile devices provide communications from virtually anywhere, whether stationary or moving. However, the communications are intended to occur only between specific parties, with the narrow exception of well-known public emergency and information services. Party-to-party communications are initiated by calling telephone numbers for specific parties. Open-ended ad hoc communications using less specific unstructured information is generally not possible. For example, in a social setting, such as a night-club or science fiction convention, a mobile device would be of little use in helping a person to meet other persons or groups sharing a common interest. The person would need to have a directory or other information source that lists the mobile device telephone numbers for other people at the same event. Similarly, in a travel situation, such as when seeking a particular type of food or requiring a taxicab, a concierge or guidebook would be more helpful than a mobile device since finding the telephone number for restaurants and taxicabs requires local knowledge of the area being visited.
Although, mobile devices provide communications in a manner similar to conventional land-based telephones, mobile devices also include tracking features that enable a mobile switching center (“MSC”) to locate specific mobile devices. Often during the course of a telephone call, subscribers will move around, such as while driving or walking. Mobile service providers use the tracking features to complete incoming calls. Except in emergency situations, mobile service providers do not use the tracking features to locate subscribers for other purposes. For instance, some subscribers may want to meet other people sharing a common interest who are physically nearby and who could be identified through location information available to the mobile service provider. Due to privacy and liability concerns, subscribers must instead rely on pre-existing information sources or upon mere chance to meet other people or groups who hopefully share that same interest.
Cellular telephones are one popular form of mobile device that include tracking features. Cellular service networks have a hierarchical component structure. At the base of the hierarchy, cellular telephones are used by individual subscribers to access the network. Each cellular telephone is uniquely identified by a mobile identification number (“MIN”) and an electronic serial number (“ESN”). In the United States and Canada, the MIN is a ten-digit telephone number that includes an area code and dialing area prefix. The ESN is a thirty two-bit binary number assigned by the manufacturer. An ESN cannot be changed by the subscriber. The MIN and ESN are used to identify cellular telephones to Base Stations at the next level of the hierarchy. Base Stations are radio transceivers. The physical coverage areas of Base Stations, known as “cells,” are physically configured into an overlapping grid that each provide cellular service to mobile devices physically located within one or more of the cells. Groups of overlapping cells form clusters that are interconnected to MSCs at the top level of the hierarchy. Multiple Base Stations are interconnected to form the complete cellular network and are also connected to public switched telephone networks. MSCs are often supplemented with Home Location Registries.
Home Location Registries provide centralized databases storing subscriber preferences. The types of preferences offered by a mobile communications service provider are dictated by the type of mobile device used and the calling features offered, such as call forwarding, call waiting, three-way calling, voice mail, and so forth. Preferences independent of the mobile device, such as the subscriber's personal interests and needs, are not tracked by Home Location Registries and are, accordingly, not shared with other subscribers or groups that are physically proximal.
Therefore, there is a need for an approach to allowing communication and, in particular, mobile device subscribers to select personalized preferences to share and with other subscribers that are physically nearby. Preferably, such an approach would allow communications between consenting subscribers, while protecting privacy and against misuses and abuses of the information offered or shared. Such an approach would also preferably allow subscribers to engage in ad hoc communications with individuals, groups, and public, commercial and emergency services.